Randy Arozarena, Yandy Diaz Leading Tampa Bay Rays’ Balanced Home Run Parade

Trailing Gerrit Cole and the Yankees 6-0 with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning of Sunday afternoon’s game at Tropicana Field, Jose Siri got the Rays on the board with a 419-foot solo home run over the center field wall.

It was the first home run Cole allowed in 51 innings this season. While the Yankees still had a five-run lead, Siri’s blast signaled the game was far from over.

“Siri getting us on the board with a home run, that was big,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “That kind of relaxed us. We knew we had our hands full facing Gerrit, and we stayed at it.”

Cole allowed another run before getting out of the fifth, then did not retire a batter in the sixth. The last batter he faced was Christian Bethancourt, whose 418-foot three-run homer to center tied the game. The Rays went on to win, 8-7, in 10 innings to take two of three from their injury-riddled American League East rival.

It should come as no surprise that a home run broke the ice and that a home run altered the game’s complexion. After all, not only are the Rays winning (28-7) at an eye-opening rate so far this season, they are hitting home runs at a prodigious pace. Their 71 homers are the second-most after 35 games (through Sunday) in MLB history. Only the 2000 St. Louis Cardinals, with 74, hit more home runs through 35 games.

The Rays, whose home run pace has not come at the expense of overall production as MLB-leading marks of a .276 average and .348 on base percentage would attest, homered in each of their first 22 games to establish an all-time record. They have hit at least two home runs in 20 of their 35 games. Six times they have hit four or more long balls.

To be sure, the Rays have some players that know how to put the ball in the stands. Brandon Lowe hit 39 home runs in 2021, his only full MLB season. Randy Arozarena hit 20 homers in each of his first two full seasons after launching 10 in the 2020 playoffs. Isaac Paredes hit 20 in 330 at-bats last season, his first with Tampa Bay.

Still, the Rays, who have allowed a league-low 23 homers, are more than halfway to the 139 they hit last season.

“I don’t know if anybody expected us to hit homers at this rate,” said Cash, whose team is the sixth since 1901 to win at least 28 of their first 35 games. “We felt we had guys that were equipped, but it does feel like they are feeding off each other and, whatever power we’ve got, everybody is putting it to use and coming up with big hits.”

Perhaps most impressive is that eight players have hit at least six home runs, though none with more than the nine team co-leaders Arozarena and Yandy Diaz had through Sunday.

Arozarena, showing great timing and flair, hit a 422-foot homer to center in the series opener against the Yankees to give every fan seated in Randy Land a free beer, soda or water during the debut of the Friday home game promotion. That was his ninth homer in what was his 31^st game. He did not hit his ninth last year until his 79^th game, the team’s 82nd.

Diaz, who enters the week with an AL-leading .435 on base percentage, has equaled his total from last season when he hit nine homers in 437 at-bats. He is five removed from his career high of 14 in 2019, his first season in St. Pete.

Harold Ramirez has six home runs in 90 at-bats to equal his total from last year when he had 403 at-bats. He hit a career-high 11 in his rookie season of 2019 with Miami.

“Harold’s always been the guy that has shown the ability to hit,” said Cash. “He’s always had bat-to-ball ability. I feel like right now he is taking his game, his hitting, to a higher level with the power that is being shown.”

The Rays, who tied the 1884 St. Louis Maroons (Union Association) by going 22-0 from the start of a season when scoring first, and were 23-0 when leading after seven innings before the Yankees burst both bubbles Saturday, have been, as Cash said, feeding off each other. How else to explain some of the other home run totals to this point?

Josh Lowe has hit six homers in 89 at-bats after hitting two in 181 at-bats last year. Luke Raley has seven home runs in 73 at-bats after hitting three in 127 at-bats during his first two brief MLB stints with the Dodgers and Rays. Switch-hitting infielder Taylor Walls had nine homers in 559 at-bats coming into this season. He has five in 76 at-bats so far in 2023.

Bethancourt’s homer off Cole was his sixth this season, which is five shy of the career-high 11 he hit last year between Oakland and Tampa Bay in 318 at-bats. He has 73 ABs this year.